• Latest
Elusive Prowlers Of The Night

Elusive Prowlers Of The Night

December 5, 2022
Investec Cape Town Art Fair

Investec Cape Town Art Fair

March 3, 2023
Discipline and Precepts are Favorable for Self-Development

Discipline and Precepts are Favorable for Self-Development

March 3, 2023
DY Patil University Centre of Excellence Opens in Navi Mumbai

DY Patil University Centre of Excellence Opens in Navi Mumbai

March 3, 2023
A Walk Down Cobblers’ Street

A Walk Down Cobblers’ Street

March 3, 2023
The Colombo Cultural Show: A Soiree into Sri Lanka’s Heart

The Colombo Cultural Show: A Soiree into Sri Lanka’s Heart

February 7, 2023
Kandy Central Market: The epitome of local ambiance

Kandy Central Market: The epitome of local ambiance

February 7, 2023
The Art of Local Writing

The Art of Local Writing

February 7, 2023
Carnival Magic

Carnival Magic

February 7, 2023
Ponniyin Selvan 1: Leveraging the Lure of History and the Power of Storytelling

Ponniyin Selvan 1: Leveraging the Lure of History and the Power of Storytelling

January 11, 2023
Rumination and Emotional Process

Rumination and Emotional Process

January 13, 2023
Segar Represents Sri Lanka in Asia Art Bienniale in Dhaka

Segar Represents Sri Lanka in Asia Art Bienniale in Dhaka

January 11, 2023
Good Conversations Start with Mlesna

Good Conversations Start with Mlesna

January 11, 2023
Retail
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Subscription
Advertise
  • Home
  • Issues
    • 201_
      • 2010
        • January 2010
        • February 2010
        • March 2010
        • April 2010
        • May 2010
        • June 2010
        • July 2010
        • August 2010
        • September 2010
        • October 2010
        • November 2010
        • December 2010
      • 2011
        • January 2011
        • February 2011
        • March 2011
        • April 2011
        • May 2011
        • June 2011
        • July 2011
        • August 2011
        • September 2011
        • October 2011
        • November 2011
        • December 2011
      • 2012
        • January 2012
        • February 2012
        • March 2012
        • April 2012
        • May 2012
        • June 2012
        • July 2012
        • August 2012
        • September 2012
        • October 2012
        • November 2012
        • December 2012
      • 2013
        • January 2013
        • February 2013
        • March 2013
        • April 2013
        • May 2013
        • June 2013
        • July 2013
        • August 2013
        • September 2013
        • October 2013
        • November 2013
        • December 2013
      • 2014
        • January 2014
        • February 2014
        • March 2014
        • April 2014
        • May 2014
        • June 2014
        • July 2014
        • August 2014
        • September 2014
        • October 2014
        • November 2014
        • December 2014
      • 2015
        • January 2015
        • February 2015
        • March 2015
        • April 2015
        • May 2015
        • June 2015
        • July 2015
        • August 2015
        • September 2015
        • October 2015
        • November 2015
        • December 2015
      • 2016
        • January 2016
        • February 2016
        • March 2016
        • April 2016
        • May 2016
        • June 2016
        • July 2016
        • August 2016
        • September 2016
        • October 2016
        • November 2016
        • December 2016
      • 2017
        • January 2017
        • February 2017
        • March 2017
        • April 2017
        • May 2017
        • June 2017
        • July 2017
        • August 2017
        • September 2017
        • October 2017
        • November 2017
        • December 2017
      • 2018
        • January 2018
        • February 2018
        • March 2018
        • April 2018
        • May 2018
        • June 2018
        • July 2018
        • August 2018
        • November 2018
        • December 2018
      • 2019
        • January 2019
        • February 2019
        • March 2019
        • April 2019
        • May 2019
        • June 2019
        • July 2019
        • August 2019
        • September 2019
        • October 2019
        • November 2019
        • December 2019
    • 202_
      • 2020
        • January 2020
        • February 2020
        • March 2020
        • September 2020
        • October 2020
        • November 2020
        • December 2020
      • 2021
        • January 2021
        • February 2021
        • March 2021
        • April 2021
        • May 2021
        • June 2021
        • July 2021
        • August 2021
        • September 2021
        • October 2021
        • November 2021
        • December 2021
      • 2022
        • January 2022
        • February 2022
        • March 2022
        • April 2022
        • May 2022
        • June 2022
        • July 2022
        • August 2022
        • September 2022
        • October 2022
        • November 2022
        • December 2022
      • 2023
        • January 2023
        • February 2023
        • March 2023
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Archive
  • Find Us on Magzter
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result

Elusive Prowlers Of The Night

in August 2014, Featured
0 0
0
Brown Hawk Owl
Brown Hawk Owl

It was refreshing and mildly surprising to find the idyllic and pristine natural beauty of the Dodanduwa Lagoon, only a twenty-minute drive from the seaside hotels and pulsating nightlife of the lively tourist hub of Hikkaduwa. Home to a rich diversity of plants, insects, reptiles, birds and animals, as well as tranquil islets where Buddhist monks have retreated into meditative isolation, the Lagoon is best explored in boats.

Words Gehan Rajeev and L J Mendis Wickramasinghe  Photographs Nethu Wickramasinghe and L J Mendis Wickramasinghe

From large sized Spot-bellied Eagle Owls to the smallest Scops Owls, Sri Lanka is home to 12 different species of owls, with two of them found only here. Their large eyes are perfect for night time hunting. Rather bulky head giving it a stout appearance and the ability to rotate 270º, keen eye sight even at very low light conditions, a sharp beak and talons all perfectly merge to produce the ultimate elusive prowler of the night—the owl.

Although owls are considered as nocturnal birds of prey, very few such as the endemic Chestnut Backed Owlet hunts during the day time. It was indeed a rare sighting at Deraniyagala, when we heard the news of this quite rare species nesting not within the jungle, but in a hole of a wooden utility pole close to a home garden. In this man made habitat, it was astonishing to see that the couple seemed undeterred to all the commotion that was going on.

Owl’s peculiar head bobbing is a result of their asymmetrically placed ears, which help them to pin point their prey in extreme low light conditions. Above all, owls can fly without the slightest hum thanks to their in-built modified feathers. Their calls, all different from one another may repel many in fear of the many myths and legends that have lingered for thousands of years. The Devil Bird or the Spot-bellied Eagle Owl perhaps has the most number of tales, for possibly it is the only bird which possesses a more human like call in the deep jungles of Sri Lanka. Although one might hear their calls, to see one in the darkness needs much patience and luck.

Going back in time, while returning after a night transect from the Kalu Mukalana Forest, we found ourselves deep in the jungle and to our dismay lost. But at a distance in the dark, we could see the Sankapala Temple; so we headed towards the temple and were quite exhausted by the time we reached our destination. While seated within the premises, from a distance we saw a figure moving hither and thither in a hurry. Dogs started to bark and the figure did not run but astonishingly took flight—it was a Spot-bellied Eagle Owl.

Many owls feed on small mammals, or rodents, but the Fish Owl as its name implies is specialised in fishing. One full moon night, we were camping at the Makara camp site of the Nilgala National Park. It was the dry season, water was scarce and on the riverbed something caught our attention. We quickly grabbed our binoculars, and thanks to the moonlight we were able to witness the amazing sight of a family of four Fish Owls. And what was going on was in fact a special fishing lesson with the adults giving their young ones a firsthand experience on fishing. They were bringing in live fish and dropping in front of the young owls and the little ones were hopping and pushing the live fish in an attempt to feed.  

As a rule of thumb, if you hear an owl, look for the tallest place possible—preferably an open area or even better a tall dead tree. At Kalubowitiyana, while researching on a rare amphibian, we heard an unusual call that sounded like a long whistle (whooooo… whooooo). This was the first time we have heard it, but we all surmised that this could be of an owl. We applied the rule of thumb and looked for a dead tall tree. There was a dead Fishtail palm (Kithul palm), so we pointed our torches towards it. The sight that greeted our wandering gaze was unbelievable—not two but four huge eyes staring at us. They were Bay Owls, the most rarest of the twelve species. We heard the same call again from another direction, and to our astonishment yet another two. This was a family of Bay owls, we had seen the young ones first and the parents at a distance.

Serendib Scops Owl, one of the small owls recently discovered from the island, is the last to be added to the list of endemic birds in Sri Lanka

‘Owl pellets’ are one of the best ways scientists use to assess the diet of owls. These are in fact the undigested parts of the prey they consume such as bones, nails and fur, which they regurgitate and are often found close to their day roosting sites. It was once at Sooriya Wewa, in one of the transects we observed such owl pellets in plentiful. On close observation we were lucky enough to see who they belonged to. These were of two Barn Owls. Thanks to this couple, we were able to identify a large number of rodents, which we had never encountered before. 

Serendib Scops Owl, one of the small owls recently discovered from the Island, is the last to be added to the list of endemic birds in Sri Lanka. The owl can be found in the lowland rain forests of Sri Lanka. It’s unusual ‘poo-ooo’ call was what helped to locate the bird, and interestingly is similar to a call of an amphibian found in the same habitat, called the Nagao’s ramanella, a type of pug-snout frog. Although till very recently Frog Mouths and Night Jars were considered to be owls—since they too are nocturnal hunters very much similar in appearance to owls, genetic evidences proved that they belong to an altogether different family, but in Sinhala their native names still remains as “Bassa” for owl in Sinhala.  

Tags: Feathered
TweetShareShare

Search

No Result
View All Result

Recent News

Investec Cape Town Art Fair

Investec Cape Town Art Fair

Discipline and Precepts are Favorable for Self-Development

Discipline and Precepts are Favorable for Self-Development

DY Patil University Centre of Excellence Opens in Navi Mumbai

DY Patil University Centre of Excellence Opens in Navi Mumbai

Explore Sri Lanka

Explore Sri Lanka Online, the web edition of Sri Lanka’s leading monthly corporate publication. Founded in 1996, the magazine currently has a distribution of over 6,000 copies island-wide.

Recent News

  • Investec Cape Town Art Fair
  • Discipline and Precepts are Favorable for Self-Development
  • DY Patil University Centre of Excellence Opens in Navi Mumbai

Find Us

Explore Sri Lanka
20-2/1 Lauries Place Facing
R. A. De Mel Mawatha
Colombo 04
Sri Lanka.
(+94 11) 259 7991
(+94) 715 134 134
info@btoptions.com
btoptions.com

  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

© 2022 Explore Sri Lanka | Designed by Lithic Labs

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Issues
    • 201_
      • 2010
      • 2011
      • 2012
      • 2013
      • 2014
      • 2015
      • 2016
      • 2017
      • 2018
      • 2019
    • 202_
      • 2020
      • 2021
      • 2022
      • 2023
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Archive
  • Find Us on Magzter

© 2022 Explore Sri Lanka | Designed by Lithic Labs

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In